ROADS were closed, train lines were blocked and flood warnings were put in place as heavy rain caused yet more chaos over the weekend.

The downpours flooded the A470, near Dolgellau in both directions between the A493 junction and the A494 junction, forcing it to shut from Saturday night and into Sunday afternoon.

The A44 between Llangurig and Aberystwyth was also closed.

Flooding shut the main road through Machynlleth, the A487. for all of Sunday morning and the flooding also closed a stretch of that road between Aberystwyth and the Dyfi Bridge.

Public transport was also badly affected by the wet weather,.

Arriva Train Wales confirmed that all lines between Caersws and Machynlleth were blocked because of surface water while GHA Coaches said the road closures caused cancellations on its Wrexham to Aberystwyth at Dolgellau service.

Environment Agency Wales issued two flood warnings on the River Dyfi, in south Gwynedd and on the Lower Dee Valley between Llangollen and Chester.

The Agency said river levels passed their peak at the Dyfi Bridge on Sunday morning but as “no significant rain” was forecast today for Sunday, it expected the river levels to fall.

On the Dee, it said river levels were “above normal” but “flooding of property is not expected at the moment”.

But with more rain forecast in North East Wales conditions could “deteriorate” with some localised flooding possible, a spokesman added.

Strong winds caused disruption too with reports of power failures in Rhyl, Acrefair and Brymbo after overhead power lines were brought down.

The wind caused some disruption on the roads as well with a 30miles per hour limit put in place on the A55, at Holyhead, Anglesey on Sunday and gusts of 50mph recorded over Snowdonia.

The Met Office issued a yellow (be aware) rain warning for much of Wales.

A spokesman said further bands of heavy rain accompanied by strong to gale force winds at times were expected to move northeastwards on Sunday night.

“Given that the ground is already saturated, the public should be aware of the risk of further localised flooding,” he added.

And there will be no let up for Christmas week with the weather remaining cloudy and wet through outlook Christmas Eve and beyond.

“The rain heavy and persistent at times leading to a risk of flooding,” the Met Office said.

Tony Conlan, a forecaster with Meteogroup, said while the rain would not be as heavy as that which has already fallen, it would be landing in areas already saturated with water.

“We certainly haven’t heard the last of the flooding stories,” he said.

“There is no sign of settled weather on the way for at least the next week.”

Across the UK, the Environment Agency still has one severe flood warning - meaning there is “danger to life” - for the River Cober at Helston in west Cornwall.

There are also 182 flood warnings, urging people to take immediate action, across the UK, with the south Wales, the south west and the Midlands the worst hit.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue said it was called to more than 80 flooding incidents yesterday, including six to rescue people from cars and three at landslides.

They included a woman swept away in her car in Llancarfan, in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The woman was driving through the village when her black Mini ended up in the swollen waterway and began floating backwards with her trapped inside.

Two men smashed the car window using a ladder and pulled her to safety just moments before her car was washed under the bridge and filled with water.

In Umberleigh, near Barnstaple in Devon, a woman was rescued by a lifeboat after she was swept away from her car in the early hours of today after flooding in the area.

A Devon and Cornwall Police helicopter found the woman clinging to branches of a tree on the banks of the swollen River Taw.

She had been in a car with her husband and son when they were trapped by flood water.